The Insurance Implications of Administrative Compensation Schemes
Administrative compensation schemes are increasingly being proposed and adopted as alternatives to the tort system. The product and process-related injuries3 covered by these schemes vary greatly; but two of their features fit them neatly within the subject of this Symposium. First, because environmental liability cuts across product and process categories, many of the issues posed by these schemes-even those that do not deal directly or explicitly with environmental liability-are relevant to the environmental- injury compensation problem. Second, the insurance implications of these schemes are a useful lens through which to view their strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, as a way of understanding the issues that would be posed by administrative efforts to compensate the victims of environmental injuries, I shall focus in this paper on the insurance implications of administrative approaches to the compensation of product and process injuries.